Paolo Ananian (Bass) (? 1880 - ?)

Probably he made his debut in 1905 at the Opera House of Monte Carlo as Don Diego in G. Meyerbeer’s ‘’Africaine’’. He appeared there in the 1905-1908 seasons and also took part in the guest performance of the ensemble of this opera house in Berlin (1907). In 1908 he was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in  New York in which as a beginning role he sang Wagner in C. Gounod’s ‘’Faust’’. He was active in this opera house first till 1910, then again in the 1911-1915 seasons and, in the end, from 1918 up to his retirement as Hermann Ortel in the ‘’Meistersingers’’ (1935). He sang at the Opera House of Monte Carlo in the premieres of the operas ‘’Thérèse’’ of J. Massenet (1907) and ‘’Theodora’’ of Xavier Leroux (1907). At the Metropolitan Opera he sang in the premieres of Puccini’s ‘’Gianni Schicchi’’ (1918 as Betto di Signa), ‘’L'Oiseau blue’’ of A. Wolff (1919) and ‘’The King's Henchman’’ of D. Taylor (1927), in addition he appeared in the USA premières of ‘’Le Donne curiose’’ of Wolf-Ferrari (1912), ‘’Lobetanz’’ of L. Thuille (1911), ‘’Julien’’ of G. Charpentier (1914), ‘’La pure Fiammette’’ of X. Leroux (1919) and ‘’Fra Gherardo’’  of I. Pizzetti (1929). In 1910 he made guest appearance at the Grand Opéra in Paris as Melot in ‘’Tristan und Isolde’’. in the 1923-24 season he sang at the Opera House of San Francisco. In 1921 he belonged to the opera troupe put together by Antonio Scotti which undertook a tour through the USA and Canada.

Chronology of some appearances

1905 Monte Carlo Opera House Africaine (Don Diego)

1908 New York Metropolitan Opera  Faust (Wagner)